Injecting drug use, fuelled by illicit drug trafficking, is increasing the number of HIV/AIDS cases in southern Uzbekistan

Injecting drug use, fuelled by illicit drug trafficking, is increasing the number of HIV/AIDS cases in southern Uzbekistan, particularly in areas bordering Tajikistan, health officials say. Aknazar Pardaev, the head of the Epidemiological Department of the AIDS Centre in the southern Uzbek city of Karshi, capital of Kashkadarya province, told IRIN that HIV/AIDS was on the rise in the area with injecting drug usage being the main mode of transmission. According to the official statistics, 46 confirmed cases have been registered among the residents of Kashkadarya province as of February 2004. Four cases were registered in 2001, five in 2002, while in 2003 that figure rocketed to 37. The highest rate of HIV infections was in Karshi city, namely 34 cases. There have been two HIV/AIDS related deaths since 1990. However, Pardaev said that the real number could be higher given that they were expecting test results from Tashkent on 60 unconfirmed cases. "We have preliminary tests here and then send them to Tashkent. There is a lack of [necessary] chemicals, which are imported. This makes it impossible for doctors to address issues immediately," he explained. Meanwhile, the issue has become even worse in neighbouring Surkhandarya province. "We have started registering the growth of the infection since 2000. Before that we had only three cases," Raisa Abuziyarova, the head of the epidemiological department at the provincial AIDS Centre, told IRIN in Surkhandarya.